Chapter 13: Theories and Effects of Mass Communication Flashcards
What are some arguments made by oeioke who think media have limited/minimal effects?
- It’s make believe, ppl know it’s not real 2. It’s only for play/entertainment 3. the media holds a mirror to society and reflect the status quo 4. they only reinforce existing beliefs 5. Media only reflects on important issues
What is the “early window”?
the idea that media give children a window on the world before they have the critical and intellectual ability to judge what they see
What does it mean to willingly suspend disbelief?
when we willingly accept as real what is put before us
What are micro level effects?
effects of media on individuals
What are macro level effects?
media’s widescale social and cultural impact`
What is critical research?
asking larger questions abour what kind of nation we are building, what kind of people we are becoming
What is administrative research?
asking questions about the immediate, observable influence of mass communication
What is the transmissional perspective?
seeing media as senders of information for the purpose of control
What is the ritual perspective?
seeing media as central to the “maintenance of society in time”
What are mass communication theories?
explanations and predictions of social phenomena that attempt to relate mass communication to various aspects of our personal and cutural lives or social systems
What is cultivation analysis?
the idea that people’s idea of themselves, their world and their place in it are shaped and maintained primarilythrough television
What is attitude change theory?
theory that explais how people’s attitudes are formed, shaped and changed and how those attitudes influence behavior
What are some important ideas to remember when understanding mass communication theory?
- there is no one mass communication theory 2. mass communication theories are often borrowed from other sciences 3. mass commxn theories are human constructions 4. mass commxn theories are dynamic
What are middle range theories?
theories that explain or predict specific, limited aspects of the mass communication process
Why is mass communication theory particularly open to evolving ideas?
- advances in technology/introduction of new media 2. calls for control or regulation 3. protecting democracy andcultural pluralism
What is mass society theory?
the idea that the media are corrupting influences that undermine the social orger and that “average” people are defenseless against their influence
What is hypodermic needle theory?
the idea that media are a dangerous drug that can directly enter a person’s system
What is magic bullet theory?
the idea from mass society theory that media are a powerful “killing force” that directly penetrates a person’s system
What is grand theory?
a theory designed to explain all aspects of a given phenomenon (ex. mass society theory)
What are limited effects theories?
the idea that media influence is limited by individual differences, social categories, and personal relationships
What is two step flow theory?
the idea that media’s influence on people’s behavior is limited by opinion leaders who pass the information onto opinion followers
What are opinion leaders?
people who initally consume meda content, interperet in light of their own values and beliefs and then pass it on to opinon followers
What are opinion followers?
people who consume media that has been passed on by opinion leaders
What is dissonance theory?
the idea that when confronted by new or conflicting information people experience a kind of mental discomfort/dissonance
What are selective processes?
processes that help us “select” what information we consume, remember, and interpret in personally important and idiosyncratic ways
What is selective exposure/attention?
the process by which people expose themselves to or attend to only those messages consistent with their preexisting attitudes and beliefs
What is selective retention?
the idea that people remember best and longest those messages that are consistent with their prexisting attitudes and beliefs
What is selective perception?
the prediction that people will interpret messages in a manner consistent with their preexisting attitudes and beliefs
What is reinforcement theory?
Joseph Klapper’s idea that if any media have any impact at all, it is the direction of reinforcement
What is the uses and gratifications approach?
claims that the media do not do things to people, rather people do things with media; influence of media is what people allow it to be
What is agenda setting?
theory that argues that media doesn’t tell us what to think but rather what to think about
What is dependency theory?
idea that media’s power is a function of audience members’ dependency on media and their content
What is social cognitive theory?
the idea that people learn through observation
What is modeling?
people copying the behaviors that they see
What is imitation?
the direct replivation of an observed behaviour
What is identification?
a special form of imitation in which observers do not copy exactly what they have seen but make a more generalized response
What is observational learning?
a type of learning where observers can learn new behaviors simply by seeing them
What are inhibitory effects?
seeing a model punished for behavior reduces the likelihood that the observer will perform that behavior
What are disinhibitory effects?
seeing a model rewarded for prohibited or threatening behavior increases the likelihood that the observer will perform that behavior
What is critical cultural theory?
the idea that media operate primarily to justify and support the status quo at the expense of ordinary people
What is neo-Marxist theory?
the theory that people are opporessed by those who control the culture, the superstructure, as opposed to the base
What is the Frankfurt School of media theory?
the approach that sees consumption of art as a means to elevate people toward a better life
What is british cultural theory?
theory of elites’ domination over culture and its influence on bounded cultures
What is news production research?
the study of how economic and other influences on the way news is produced distort and bias news coverage towardd those in power